Science

Lead: Miss Daly

Science at Our Lady of Compassion

Our visions and values are at the heart of everything we do.

They underpin our teaching and learning in science, and provide an environment which prepares our pupils

as confident, happy and successful scientists.

Intent

At Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School, we nurture young minds to embrace the wonders of science! In an era where science constantly evolves and shapes our existence, we equip our students with vital scientific knowledge, methods, processes and uses of science. By doing so, we are cultivating the future generation in fields such as space exploration, forensic investigation, toxicology, and microbiology.

To achieve this goal, we follow a practical hands-on curriculum that encourages curiosity and questioning. Our aim is that these stimulating and challenging experiences help every child secure and extend their scientific knowledge and vocabulary, as well as promoting a love for learning.We aspire for our children to remember their science lessons and use their skills and knowledge in the wider world in the future.

At Our Lady of Compassion, we are studying CUSP science. Through this pupils become more expert as they progress through the curriculum, accumulating, connecting and making sense of the rich substantive and disciplinary knowledge.

Substantive knowledge - this is the subject knowledge and explicit vocabulary used to learn about the content. Common misconceptions are explicitly revealed as non-examples and positioned against known and accurate content. In CUSP science, an extensive and connected knowledge base is constructed so that pupils can use these foundations and integrate it with what they already know. Misconceptions are challenged carefully and in the context of substantive and disciplinary knowledge. In CUSP Science, it is recommended that misconceptions are not introduced too early, as pupils need to construct a mental model in which to position that new knowledge.

Disciplinary knowledge – this is knowing how to collect, use, interpret, understand and evaluate the evidence from scientific processes. This is taught.

Scientific analysis is developed through IPROF criteria. We call it ‘Thinking Scientifically.’

identifying and classifying
pattern seeking
research
observing over time
fair and comparative testing

Implementation

CUSP Science is built around the principles of cumulative knowledge. The effect of this cumulative model supports opportunities for children to associate and connect with significant periods of time, people, places and events with a clear progression of skills throughout school.

What do we teach?

EARLY YEARS

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum supports children’s understanding of Science through the planning and teaching of ‘Understanding the World.’ Children find out about objects, materials and living things using all of their senses looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change. Both the environment and skilled practitioners foster curiosity and encourage explorative play, children are motivated to ask questions about why things happen and how things work. Our children are encouraged to use their natural environment around them to explore. Children enjoy spending time outdoors exploring minibeasts and their habitats, observing the changing seasons, plants and animals. During the spring term children have the unique first hand experience of hatching and caring for live chicks. Children regularly participate in cookery and baking sessions which allows them to experience changes in state as ingredients are mixed, heated and cooled.

Overview

KEY STAGE 1

Pupils study the Seasons and develop an early conceptual understanding of how day becomes night. An understanding of change over time connects to the study of Plants, including trees. This focus enables children to associate trees as belonging to the plant kingdom and notice the changes deciduous trees go through connected to the seasons.

Contrasting that study, pupils learn about Animals, including humans. Non-examples of plants are used to contrast the features of an animal.

Pupils are introduced to identifying and classifying materials. Scientific terms, such as transparent, translucent and opaque are taught explicitly through vocabulary instruction and pupils make further sense by applying it to what they know and then to working and thinking scientifically. This substantive knowledge is enriched by pupils’ use of disciplinary knowledge through scientific enquiry.

Within the study of Living things and their habitats and Uses of everyday materials new substantive knowledge is constructed and made sense through Working and Thinking scientifically.

LOWER KEY STAGE 2

The unit on Rocks is studied and connected with prior knowledge from ‘Everyday materials’ in KS1. A study of Animals, including humans is built upon from KS1 and contrasts the physical features with the functions they perform, including the skeleton and muscles.

Rocks is revisited again to sophisticate and deepen pupils’ knowledge, advancing their understanding.

Forces and magnets are introduced and connect with KS1 materials, including twisting, bending and squashing. Contact and non-contact forces are taught and understanding applied through Working and Thinking Scientifically. The abstract concept of Light is made concrete through knowing about light sources and shadows. Plants are studied to develop a more sophisticated understanding of their parts and functions, including pollination.

A study of Living things and their habitats pays close attention to classification and is directly taught using prior knowledge to ensure conceptual frameworks are secure. Animals, plants and environments are connected in this study with a summary focusing on positive and negative change.

Electricity is introduced and pupils acquire understanding about electrical sources, safety and components of a single loop circuit.

Animals, including humans focuses on the sequence of digestion, from the mouth to excretion.

States of matter and Sound are taught using knowledge of the particle theory. Practical scientific tasks and tests help pupils build a coherent understanding of the particle theory by applying what they know through structured scientific enquiry.

UPPER KEY STAGE 2

Pupils reuse and draw upon their understanding of states of matter in the study of Properties and changes of materials.

Change is also studied within Animals, including humans, focusing on growth and development of humans and animals.

Earth in Space develops the conceptual understanding of our place in the universe.

A study of Forces sophisticates the substantive knowledge acquired in KS1 and LKS2. Enhancing this study of Forces, pupils learn about Galileo Galilei 1564 - 1642 (considered the father of modern science).

Living things and their habitats focuses on differences in life cycles of living things and how they reproduce. This study also contrasts previous scientific thinking.

A further study of Living things and their habitats enables pupils in UKS2 to revisit and add to their understanding of classification through the taxonomy created by Carl Linnaeus. More complex animals are studied.

Light is revisited and taught with advanced substantive knowledge. This is physics study with a focus on the properties of light, not the biology of the eye.

How do pupils learn

Class timetables have been built to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum.
Subjects have been blocked in a spaced retrieval model to support catch up and to build the frequency of science and wider curriculum subjects. This maximises learning time.

An essential component to CUSP lessons is the systematic and coherent approach that we embed focusing on the six phases of a lesson.

OVERVIEW OF KNOWLEDGE

Each unit includes an overview for the teacher which details the big idea that pupils will be studying, prior knowledge, skills to be taught and common misconceptions.

KNOWLEDGE ORGANISERS

Dual coded knowledge organisers contain core information for children to easily access and use as a point of reference and as a means of retrieval practise.

MAPPING OF KNOWLEDGE

The sequence of learning makes clear essential and desirable knowledge, key questions and task suggestions for each lesson and suggested cumulative quizzing questions.

KNOWLEDGE NOTES

Knowledge notes are an elaboration in the core knowledge found in knowledge organisers.

Knowledge notes focus pupils’ working memory to the key question that will be asked at the end of the lesson. It reduces cognitive load and avoids the split-attention effect.

RETRIEVAL PRACTISE

Retrieval practise is planned into the curriculum through spaced learning and interleaving and as part of considered task design by the class teacher. Teaching and learning resources and provided for class teachers so they can focus their time on subject knowledge and task design.

VOCABULARY

The units are supported by vocabulary modules which provide both resources for teaching and learning vital vocabulary and provide teachers with Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary with the etymology and morphology needed for explicit instruction details relevant idioms and colloquialisms to make this learning explicit.

We aim to provide a high challenge with low threat culture and put no ceiling on any child’s learning, instead providing the right scaffolding for each child for them to achieve.

IMPACT

The impact of this curriculum design will lead to outstanding progress over time across key stages relative to a child’s individual starting point and their progression of skills.

Children will therefore be expected to leave Our Lady’s reaching at least age related expectations for Science. Our Science curriculum will also lead pupils to be enthusiastic learners, evidenced in a range of ways, including pupil voice and their work.

HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT THE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED

Questioning
Pupil Book Study talking about learning with the children
Talking to teachers
Low stakes ‘Drop-in’ observations
Quizzing and retrieval practise
Feedback and marking
Progress in book matches the curriculum intent

EXAMPLE OF QUIZ:

PUPIL BOOK STUDY TELLS US

1. What impact is our CURRICULUM having? What effect is the curriculum architecture having?

2. Does teaching support LONG-TERM LEARNING?Is the evidence-led practice really being deployed at a classroom level, or is it superficial?

3. Do tasks enable pupils to THINK HARD and CREATE LONG-TERM MEMORY? How impactful are tasks, and do they help pupils to think hard and generate learning?

LEARNING EXAMPLES

In Science, in Year 5, we learnt about how living things reproduce. We made our own

rebops based on cells joining together and producing a variation of its species.

In Year 2, we learnt how to identify and name a variety of plants and trees, including

deciduous and evergreen trees.